Video | Meet Szept: the “relaxation manager” of Crea
Today is Animal Day, enough reason for Folia to put Crea’s dog Szept in the spotlight. Shouldn’t every office have a dog? In any case, the university is well suited for it, says animal-human studies researcher Maarten Reesink. “An open, non-hierarchical work culture with flexible working hours works best for a dog.”
Dogs have been coming to UvA for years. “In the 1990s, there was Gerda’s big dog at the secretariat of theater studies,” media scientist and founder of the Center for Animal Human Studies Maarten Reesink tells me on the phone. “That dog was always under her desk; everyone loved that.”
Since then, scientific evidence has also emerged that people benefit from the presence of animals. Pet owners seem to visit the doctor less often, suffer less from cardiovascular disease, and generally feel more comfortable. “From that science came the idea of bringing the dog into the workplace,” says Reesink. “Not just for fun, but to serve a purpose. That’s a recent phenomenon, though.”
The first study examining whether people become more productive and comfortable with a dog in the office has already been conducted. “People do not become more productive, but they do like a dog in the office in general,” Reesink says. “I would qualify that, though. In offices with a dog, there are probably also people who like it, otherwise, they would leave it at home.”
Unclean animal
There are certainly objections. Reesink says: “For example, some people are allergic to animals. Others are not allergic but hate dogs. Still others don’t like dogs because of cultural aspects. For example, for many Muslims, the dog is an unclean animal.”
“And last,” Reesink continues, “but not least, what does the dog think? The research so far reasons from the human point of view. My question would be does it benefit the animal?”
At its most positive, it is also nice for the dog to go to the office with you: it is not sitting at home alone but is in the company of at least one of the members of its pack. Many dogs enjoy the company of other people (even without dogs).
Although that seems to vary from dog to dog. “And I don’t mean by breed of dog. In fact, the differences between individual dogs are greater than the differences between dog breeds. You can’t say: oh, it’s a beagle, so it can come to the office. Every dog is an individual.” However, some dog breeds, such as poodles and spaniels, are generally more sociable that others.”
If you decide to bring a dog along, it will first have to slowly get used to the new place. “And if a dog doesn’t like it in the office, then you shouldn’t bring it along either,” Reesink argues. How do you know? “There are dog behaviorists for that. And that is no exaggeration because not even experienced dog owners can always read their dog’s behavior.”
Dogs - with the exception of assistance dogs - are not allowed at the UvA because of hygiene and possible inconvenience to others. This is stated in the UvA house and conduct rules. Nevertheless, it does occasionally happen that dogs are brought to the workplace. “This is allowed if colleagues have been actively asked for permission and there is thus broad support,” reports a UvA press officer. “We want to prevent an employee who is bothered by it from not daring to say so.”
In some cases, though, it can be predicted. A new situation with many stressed people is not ideal for young dogs in particular. Reesink therefore calls the puppy cuddling in the UvA university library during exam week a number of years ago “not such a brilliant idea” from the point of view of animal welfare. After all, the animals take over the students’ stress. “It might work with very experienced dogs, though, who are used to all kinds of situations and can handle them just fine.”
Open work culture
And then there is the workplace. That can be more suitable or unsuitable for a dog - from the human point of view. Research shows that an open, non-hierarchical work culture in which employees have autonomy over their work and their working hours works best. If someone does not want to be in one room with a dog, another space can then be found to suit them.
“The first thing that came to my mind: the university seems like a suitable place for a dog in many cases,” says Reesink. “After all, the work culture there is open and employees generally have autonomy over their work.” But he cautions: “But universities also tend to employ people from other cultures who are not at all fond of dogs.”
